Cairo – Nearly 100 judges of Egypt’s Council of State recently participated in a workshop that focused on increasing expertise in judging administrative appeals related to all forms of intellectual property.  The workshop was sponsored by the Council of State and the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade, in cooperation with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The workshop aimed to strengthen Egypt’s system of granting protection for intellectual property by developing the skills of those who hear appeals on decisions of Government administrative agencies, including the Patent, Trademark, Industrial Designs, and Plant Variety Protection Offices.

“USAID has a long-standing commitment to help Egypt and other countries build domestic industry, promote exports, promote indigenous inventions, and attract foreign direct investment,” said William Patterson, Director of the Economic Growth Office of USAID in Egypt, in the workshop opening speech.  “Having a solid system for protecting intellectual property meets all these aims, and it is vitally important to the growth of Egypt’s economy.”

Speakers at the opening session of the workshop included Counselor Ghobrial Gad,  President of Council of State; Counselor Samir Abdelmalak, Vice President of  the Council of State and Head of the State Council Training Center; and Dr. Basem Auda, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade.

Effective, prompt, and predictable protection for patents, trademarks, and industrial designs is a key component of a flourishing business environment.  This workshop was just one part of a broad and robust economic relationship that the U.S has been building with Egypt for decades.  A diverse trade and investment relationship has made America Egypt’s largest bilateral trading partner and a significant investor in Egypt’s future, with total investments of almost $17 billion responsible for hundreds of thousands of Egyptian jobs.  The U.S. also has significant people-to-people ties with Egypt, as 2,000 Egyptian students study in American schools, 62,000 Egyptian tourists and businesspeople visited America last year, and over 600,000 people follow the activities of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo on Facebook. 

Our assistance relationship is similarly robust, totaling over $30 billion from the American people since 1975 and achieving significant results that have changed the lives of Egyptians.  These include infrastructure projects that have provided water, electricity, and telephone services to nearly all of Egypt; environmental projects that have reduced lead levels in the air by 65 percent for Cairo residents; education projects that have contributed to doubling the number of girls in schools; and health projects that have led to an 82 percent reduction in infant mortality.  This year, President Obama delivered an additional $190 million in budget support to the government to support stabilizing Egypt’s economy.